ABVP raises black flags, shout “Rahul Gandhi Go Back”

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi was on Saturday shown black flags during his visit on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus to meet students protesting for the release of Student Union president Kanhaiya Kumar.

The protestors, allegedly belonging to ABVP, raised slogan of “Rahul Gandhi go back” in the varsity.

Besides Rahul, several leaders of the Congress and the Left parties, including deputy leader of Rajya Sabha, Anand Sharma, CPI politburo member Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, also gathered on the JNU campus.

Scores of students have been demanding the release of Kumar, who was sent to a three-day police custody yesterday.

Gandhi had yesterday said that the Modi government is “bullying” an institution like the Jawaharlal Nehru University and it is “completely condemnable”.

The Congress VP at the same time asserted that anti-India sentiment was “unquestionably unacceptable”.

His remarks came after the arrest of JNU students’ union president Kumar in a sedition case over a protest event at the campus against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, which sparked massive outrage among students.

The development comes even as Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, earlier in the day, reiterated that action will be taken as per law and called on the Opposition to openly condemn the `anti-national` activities at the varsity.

“Whatever incident had happened in JNU related to the anti-national activity and slogans` being carried out by some students is very unfortunate. Freedom of expression cannot be absolute and unqualified. There has to be a reasonable restriction,” Rijiju said.

Amid the raging JNU row, Home Minister Rajnath Singh also asserted today that no innocent will be harassed but the guilty “will not be spared” as Left leaders met him questioning the police action against students including arrest of JNUSU leader.

Jawaharlal Nehru University students on Tuesday had organised a meet on the campus to mourn the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) co-founder Maqbool Bhat, where anti-India slogans were raised.

Another commemorative meeting was held at the Press Club of India in Delhi on Wednesday where too, anti-India slogans were raised and placards were shown.